Parents at a Phoenix elementary school are outraged over a government-funded video game that is meant to simulate the slavery experience for learning purposes, with some saying it trivializes a complex and potentially traumatic issue.
The choose-your-own-adventure game, called “Mission US: Flight to Freedom” follows a 14-year-old enslaved girl who is trying to escape her Kentucky plantation.
“I found out about it last week, when my son told me what happens in the game,” parent De’Lon Brooks told the Arizona Central. “I was just like, ‘No. Not at all. That’s not going to work’…As a parent and as someone who grew up under civil-rights (movement) members, I couldn’t allow my son to be subjected to that without my permission.“
The game is the first of its kind to be publicly funded, according to USA Today. It had funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Humanities. It has also won numerous awards.
Phoenix Elementary district spokeswoman Sara Bresnahan said the district was unsure how the game was approved for classroom use, but access has since been blocked.